Game Night
by aurelia dex noctis
Summary: Tyzula Month AU. Azula's 17th birthday party consists of eight hours in a digital arena, locked in a ruthless battle for high scores, kill counts, glory... and maybe true love.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: This will be a sci-fi AU for scattered Tyzula Month prompts. I don't think I'll do all of them, but I do want to do as many as I can. I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

 **GAME NIGHT**

* * *

 **PROLOGUE PART ONE = LATE**

* * *

A teenage girl in a blue dress toyed with her neon drink. She was leaning against the bar in a packed nightclub. She shrugged off all attention as she waited for her birthday party guests. Her invitation to the game night was obviously not _clear_ on the time.

The bartender vanished before she could ask for anything else. He was there one second, and erased from this reality in the next. Back to the boring, dreadful _real world_.

Wonderful. What a fantastic birthday.

She screamed when she was attacked by a surprise hug from behind.

"You're late," Azula said coolly as she pulled away from another teenage girl garbed in bright pink.

"I had homework," Ty Lee whined. "I'm _so_ failing Fire Nation history. War is _very boring_!"

Azula set down her drink.

"I suppose I can be forgiving. Mai and Zuko are later anyway," she said, offering some cold consolation to the girl who made her heart flutter.

"We're ten minutes behind schedule," said Azula's brother. He pushed his way through the crowd with his girlfriend at his side. "You're overreacting, as usual."

"I appreciate punctuality," Azula snapped. "No one will leave, fall asleep, remove their band for any reason, or ruin my birthday game night in any other way now, will they?"

She spoke like an empress, and they couldn't help but react like she was. No one ever said Azula was friendly, in real life or here on the internet.

Her friends and brother say variations of sincere agreements.

"Good!" Ty Lee interrupted, smiling with hopes to diffuse the tense situation. "We'll have so much fun! I love _Endurance_!"

"Can we leave this awful place now?" Mai requested.

Azula sighed.

They found the door and took off to start their long, long game of _Endurance_.

* * *

 **PROLOGUE PART II = PROMISE**

* * *

In a white room with two monitors and one sealed door, the foursome stood and debated their game.

"You two are obviously a time," Ty Lee said, pointing at her favorite couple. They were so _newly_ in love and it was _cute as could be_.

Mai and Zuko exchanged a glance of wordless agreement.

"Wait, wait, wait," Azula said with a laugh that was not remotely happy. "Mai is far better at _Endurance_ than either of _you_ , and I want her on my team. It's my _birthday_ , remember?"

Ty Lee looked at Mai with pleading eyes.

Mai sighed and gave in. She set her hand down on the monitor near her and tapped the two usernames.

"I already locked Zuko and I in as the Red Team," she said.

Azula rolled her eyes while Ty Lee smiled. After locking the Blue Team in, Azula grabbed Ty Lee by the arm. Their noses nearly touched.

"Promise me you will not let us lose," Azula said severely. She took this all too seriously, but Ty Lee really didn't care.

"I promise," Ty Lee said sincerely with a dreamy look in her eyes.

Azula decided that it was better than nothing.

"Well, if you lovebirds are done gazing longingly into each other's eyes, you can pick your starting equipment. Azula can go first," Mai said, nodding her head at the now open armory.

All four passed through the now open door into a room of weapons, shields and four monitors displaying four usernames.

Azula walked to choose her initial gear from the many glimmering options. She chose a syringe and removed it from its white stand. Unflinchingly, she injected it into her left arm. She did not move as blue flames burnt on her fingers. She took a second syringe and injected lightning.

Her monitor buzzed. She took the second best shield and her screen turned bright blue.

"Ty Lee, come take these two guns. And the strongest shield," Azula ordered. Mai held back a sigh; Azula was as good at crushes as a fourth grader. "We can at least beat Zuko, I suppose."

Zuko did not even bother to respond as Ty Lee obeyed the birthday girl.

"I'm super good at gymnastics. Way better than Mai ever could be," Ty Lee said. "And fast. I'm fast."

Mai took knives and a crossbow before her monitor buzzed. Zuko took broadswords and a sole injection of flames. He did not flinch either, but his eyes did not have the same cold hunger that Azula's did.

Zuko unlocked the armory door and it began counting down.

Ty Lee excitedly grabbed Azula by the waist. Mai couldn't help but smirk when Azula jumped and blushed. Even alone with a band on, Azula was not immune to that bubbly brunette.

The game announced, "LEVEL ONE," and it all began.

This was a very promising game night, in everyone's opinion.


	2. Chapter 2

**LEVEL ONE = ELITE**

* * *

The first dungeon materialized around the quartet.

It was the futuristic one. Azula disapproved of what looked like _laser tag_. She was hoping for a tropical intro – the wild animals in those maps were by far her favorite. She made them kneel like she made the AI enemies kneel.

"I love this one," Zuko of course said as the neon blue lights streaked across the dark ceiling. "My friend has the top score in it."

"Oh, well, he will meet his demise at my hands," Azula said. "I am the elite player and we all know it. Now start moving before we get snuffed out in the first room."

"She. It's Katara," Zuko corrected.

"I don't care. It's my birthday and I don't want to hear about your loser friends," Azula ordered. Zuko reached for his broadsword before he remembered the public consequences of friendly fire. If it were not for his own scores and reputation in _Endurance_ , he would have probably taken her out.

"Are we moving on now?" Mai asked, pointing at the landscape in front of them.

The staircase caught Azula's eye first. It looked like it went on forever, but that could not be; it seemed to be the safest way through the glowing blue and steel room.

"Yes. I am clearly the leader, so we will go up that staircase," Azula said, and no one argued. They didn't care who led them.

The quartet ran over the first chunk of land, and began to dash up the steps. The blue lights shifted to violet as they reached the platform at the top.

They felt the silence and knew that they were about to face their first batch of enemies.

"What level did you set these guys at?" Ty Lee asked as she eyed the swarm of foes.

"Elite," Azula replied without hesitation.

"Okay." Ty Lee was certain they could handle it. She dove to the side and pressed her back against one of the very well placed cover options. Zuko moved opposite of her while Mai and Azula decided to stand right in front of an entire wave.

They did not want to let the other win. That was how Mai and Azula operated.

A knife collided with one of the identical enemies and it burst into a shower of violet sparks that rained down for a flicker of a second and then disappeared. Azula took out three of them in one burst of powerful flame. It seemed so real that all four friends could feel the heat.

Azula dodged the bullet of a sniper from above and bounced back to hit it with lightning. Mai compensated for that loss by sliding down to grab her lost knife and stabbing it straight into the chest of an enemy. The sparks scorched her skin but did not leave a mark.

Ty Lee jumped up the moment two of them came close to the staircase. She threw one over the edge with one move, and the other she took down with four punches.

Azula glanced at her and the approval in her eyes made Ty Lee's heart race. They were an awesome team and Ty Lee wanted her to see that.

Ty Lee nearly slipped over the side when a huge masked guy grabbed her. She pushed herself back up and punched it. When it faltered, Ty Lee grabbed one of the guns Azula told her to take and fired three fast shots that brought him down.

The sparks burned her skin, and it felt good. They left no marks and no trace of their existence, which only made her crave the feeling more.

Hearing the sound of metal smashing against metal snapped her back into focus. Zuko was locked into a fight with broadswords. Azula was brilliant with that fire; she was good at it and was the perfect crowd control. At Mai and Zuko's pace, she and Azula were definitely going to win.

Ty Lee had the honor of the last kill.

As soon as the bodies of the enemies faded from existence, the top of the staircase was quiet and far less exciting.

Azula followed the violet lights down from the platform and she began to weave through the walls. She then stopped, because she had lost her partner. But before she could snap an order, Ty Lee vaulted over one of the walls and landed beside her.

"Mai and Zuko went to the left. Should we go right?" Ty Lee asked.

Azula nodded, and they took off through the glimmering obstacles, stopping to take out an enemy or two on their fiery trail to the dungeon exit.

Tonight was looking good.


End file.
